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Course Points
In addition to Credential Points, applicants may claim Course Points for any GIS-related course, workshop, or other formal, documented educational activity. The number of points earned per course or workshop is proportional to the number of Student Activity Hours (the time that a student spends both inside and outside the classroom completing reading or homework assignments, studying, or other preparations) that each course entails.
In most cases, transcripts, certificates of completion and other documentation do not disclose the number of activity hours that successful students are expected to invest in a course or workshop. Activity hours for credit courses offered by colleges and universities can be estimated, however, by multiplying the number of credits earned per course times three (a standard estimate for student activity per credit hour) and then multiplying the result by the duration of the course in weeks. Activity hours for non-credit courses that award Continuing Education Units (CEUs) can be estimated by multiplying the number of CEUs earned by 10 (a CEU is equivalent to 10 hours of student activity). For example:
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A three-credit college or university course in GIS conducted over a fifteen-week semester involves 135 student activity hours (3 credits × 3 activity hours per credit × 15 weeks course duration).
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A non-credit college or university course or workshop for which participants earn 1 continuing education unit (CEU) earns 10 points (1 CEU × 10 activity hours).
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Most workshops and vendor training do not offer CEU credits. The applicant will take the number of hours spent in the workshop ÷ 40. For example, a 16-hour workshop would earn 0.4 points. (16 activity hours ÷ 40 activity hours per point).
GISCI awards one course point for every 40 documented Student Activity Hours. For example:
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The three-credit college or university course in GIS that involved 135 student activity hours earns 3.375 points (135 activity hours ÷ 40 activity hours per point);
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The non-credit college or university course or workshop that involved 10 student activity hours earns 0.25 points (10 activity hours ÷ 40 activity hours per point)
Note: For non-credit courses and workshops for which neither credits nor CEUs were earned, Student Activity Hours should be documented by the training provider in the course description and/or certificate of completion. Undocumented claims will be accepted only during the GISCI five-year “Transition Period” which will last until December 31, 2008. Prior to completing a course whose provider has not documented the course’s Student Activity Hours, you should request such information from the provider. After December 31, 2008 no courses or workshops lacking Student Activity Hours documented by the provider will be accepted for Course Points. |
Only formal courses and workshops that focus specifically upon GIS science, technology, and/or applications are eligible for Course Points. Relevant courses may be counted even if they were completed as part of a degree or certificate program for which the applicant has also claimed Credential Points. Course titles should be listed in the schedule as they appear on the supporting transcript, syllabi, or other documentation. Non-specific course titles such as ‘Special Issues in Geography’ can be augmented with the actual course topic e.g. ‘Special Issues in Geography: Error Analysis’.
View the UCGIS Body of Knowledge
The UCGIS Body of Knowledge is used to determine course point eligibility.
The final decision regarding the validity of all course points lies with the GISCI Review Committee.
View EDU-2: The Course Point Schedule
(in .pdf form)
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